Ulster Museum

Set inside the Botanic Gardens beside Queen's University, the Ulster Museum is the largest museum in Northern Ireland — and it's free. Its collections run from dinosaurs and a 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy to gold recovered from the Spanish Armada wrecks off the Antrim coast.

The galleries climb through natural sciences, world cultures and fine art, including a strong collection of Irish and British painting. The history floors tackle the Troubles with notable honesty, giving visitors a measured, humane way into the events that shaped modern Belfast.

The brutalist 1970s extension grafted onto the original 1929 building is itself a talking point, and the museum's position inside the gardens means you can easily fold a visit into an afternoon of lawns, glasshouses and student cafés.

Visitor tips

• Entry is free; special exhibitions may be ticketed.
• The top-floor art galleries are the quietest.